Starseek and Orion Atlas Problem

Hi, has anyone else had any problem driving their Atlas with the star seek wifi device? I just spent most of the first clear night in 2-3 weeks fooling around with the thing before I gaze up. It connects to the wifi, but says "Connected to the starseek, but mount not responding to commands". Mount is only 4 years old, and is the eq-g with current firmware (as far as I can tell).

Just called Orion Tech Support. They were less than helpful -- basically, they have no way to troubleshoot the thing. He asked me if I'd done a star alignment first (yes), but then had nothing after that. He was unable to tell me if it was broken or not, and seemed unsure whether I should send it back. I'm going to try updating the firmware (even though the handset says it's current v3.27) and see if that helps. Of course, the computer connection is via the antiquated serial connector, so I'm going to have to go back to 1985 to get a computer.

If you have a desktop PC, you might try opening it up and seeing if there is a COM port on the motherboard. (Only the latest mobo I've purchased did not have one of these legacy ports.) I just ordered an internal cable from Newegg to effectively get a COM jack on one of my PCs, just to play with the SynScan beta.

I'm having problems similar to the OP, which I'll post on after I try One More Thing....

Jim, appreciate the advice about the iphone OS -- I'll try it with the iPad. Also, the USB adapter, which I picked up from radio shack and updated the firmware with it (without success). Not my intention to bash Orion Tech Support (though I guess I did a bit, the frustration talking), but to get some ideas how to troubleshoot. In fairness, Orion has offered to pay for return shipping, and customer service was responsive as usual. I'll re-post after trying the iPad. Steve, Please repost and let us know how it turns out!

I tried the iPad last night without success, so I don't think it was the iOS. Could have been the wireless, although it looked like it was connecting and I'm pretty comfortable with wireless devices.

To check out the mount, I downloaded Stellarium and successfully drove the mount from my laptop. By the way, awesome program! That leaves the unit as the only piece I haven't tested. It's boxed and ready to ship back to Orion.

In the mean time, I had completely forgotten to have fun, so I pulled out the old standby 114mm f8 reflector last night and observed M35 and a Ganymede shadow transit, two things I've never seen before. I'm going to give the computers a rest and stick to my eyes for awhile.

I gave my setup another shot today, and I also had no success. I have the Atlas, Sky Safari Pro, and the Orion Sky-Fi unit (which I am assured is compatible with SS Pro). After trying a different cable, which I had hopes about after reading telfish's post, I still get the same error message -- even though SkySafari's settings panel shows it can see the SkyFi unit.

I'll have to call Orion, and I'm hoping I'll get some help even though my SkyFi is out of the return period, but well within the warranty.

On the bright side, I'm going to update my SynScan controller with the new firmware, and even give a try at connecting a PC. Plus, I can still do plenty of AP while my iPhone plans are on hold.